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How to Make Substitute Teaching Your Full-Time Job
Plus, surprising benefits that come with these short-term teaching positions
Do you thrive in new, ever-changing environments? Are you looking for a higher-paying teaching role? What about job flexibility? If so, turning substitute teaching into your full-time job may be a great option for you.
Substitute teaching encompasses any school-based teaching position that is shorter than the length of the school year, or less than nine months. You may also see these jobs advertised as short-term teaching positions or even referred to as year-to-year contracts. Regardless of the terminology, these positions offer surprising benefits and can make for a dynamic, exciting and higher-paying teaching career.
Benefits of Working Short-Term Teaching Positions
Becoming a full-time substitute teacher essentially means you work several short-term educational service positions within a given school year. Working with a staffing agency like Amergis can help you accomplish this. Doing a quick search for “temp agencies near me” should give you your options for agencies to work with in your area. Once you choose and connect with an agency, they do the leg work of getting you placed in open short-term positions. These positions are often available due to teacher shortages or when teachers are out. “We fill short-term jobs in school for general and special education teachers, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, school psychologists, and more,” said Ryan Lamping, regional director of business development at Amergis Educational Staffing. “They are typically harder to fill than school-year-based jobs, as there’s often less availability for the shorter-term assignments.”
Short-term school jobs can offer extensive benefits, including:
- Higher pay. Short-term positions through a staffing agency are often a higher hourly rate than what a school district offers.
- Quick placement. If you’re looking to quickly start a job, these short-term positions often come with a sense of urgency to be filled. Therefore, the job application, interview and approval processes are often shorter. Particularly if you are working with a staffing agency, the burden of paperwork and back-and-forth communication with the school falls less on you and more on the agency.
- Job flexibility. With shorter contracts, you access more opportunities for change. Plus, you’re less tied down to a specific location or a specific school. All of this makes for a dynamic teaching career and can give you more control over the trajectory of your career.
- New environments. With substitute teaching, you can try different positions to find what you love. Think of it as getting a sample of different grade levels and classrooms settings to gain a breadth of educational experience. “You are able to learn what you like and then move toward more jobs in those areas of interest for you,” said Lamping. “We can help you hit those tiers of experience that get you to where you want to be in the teaching field.”
While it may have benefits, making substitute teaching your full-time job generally would work best for teachers who are flexible. “You need to be ready for lots of change and ready to be flexible,” said Lamping. “Working in many different environments requires that.”
How Amergis Educational Staffing Can Help
Ready to make substitute teaching your full-time job? Let’s get you hired! Amergis Educational Services can find the perfect fit for you. View our job openings.
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